Fire station is sinking

HOLLADAY — The city's current redevelopment plan will ultimately result in a new fire station for the Unified Fire Authority.

That's welcome news to the firefighters of UFA's Station No. 4, 4625 S. Holladay Blvd., since their current fire station is sinking.

About two years ago, firefighters began to notice the bricks were separating from the mortar in the walls surrounding the sleeping quarters. As a safety precaution, the fire department voluntarily decided to move most of the station's operations into a large portable classroom-like building about 30 feet away from the main building.

Today, cracks are clearly visible on the north walls of the fire station as well as the condominium complex next door. Extra supports have been added to the condo complex's second-story balcony.

UFA Capt. Jay Torgersen said the city collected soil samples two years ago and determined that a compaction problem under the foundations of both buildings could be causing the structures to sink.

The fear for fire administrators was a worst-case scenario of the fire station collapsing in the middle of the night on unsuspecting crews during an earthquake, he said.

Although they no longer use the room for sleeping, the area is still used as an exercise room during the day. Firefighters say they don't think twice about using it, noting there is no fear of the building suddenly collapsing.

Likewise, firefighters also have no complaints about being moved into a portable building. The temporary station headquarters comes with heat, air conditioning, plumbing, computer hookups, a kitchen and TV. Some firefighters have noted the portable building is almost nicer than the living quarters of the 1954-built firehouse.

Torgersen said response times have not been affected by the move into the portable, which he noted is about the same distance from the fire trucks as the old living area.

While firefighters have made the transition from their sinking building into a temporary building seamlessly, they are looking forward to moving into a new fire station. Because of the anticipated move, the decision was made not to try to fix the old building's north end, which Torgersen estimated had sunk a few inches in the past two years.

About 90 percent of the calls Station No. 4 responds to are in Holladay, he said, one reason the fire department was looking forward to continuing service in the area.